


The Young Huntsman

by Bandgeek18



Series: No Capes, Just Crowns [2]
Category: Green Arrow (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Oliver is a good king, he's trying his best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 20:20:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15736662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bandgeek18/pseuds/Bandgeek18
Summary: While riding in the woods one day, King Oliver and Queen Dinah are attacked by bandits. Thankfully, they're saved by a  huntsman. Upon learning the boy is an orphan, King Oliver invites him back to the castle to reward him.





	The Young Huntsman

**Author's Note:**

> This is another story for my Royalty AU. These stories go in no particular order, so this one is actually before the first story. Enjoy.

The fresh air was crisp and quiet as Oliver led Dinah through the woods. “Enjoying yourself?” he asked as they guided their horses over a fallen log. 

“I’d be having a better time if I wasn’t wearing this ridiculous gown,” Dinah muttered. “I’ll never get used to these things.”

“We’ve been married for two years and you keep saying that.” 

“You’ve gotten very good at riding side-saddle, my lady,” one of the knights riding nearby said. 

“Thank you, but I would prefer to ride normally.”

“Dinah,” Oliver sighed. He looked at the knight, who guided his horse forward to give them relative privacy. “Do we have to do this right now?”

“You mean my pointing out how arcane your laws are?”

“You’re the queen, dear. Not a knight or a farmer. The highest lady of the court. You need to dress like it.” 

“Your friend Diana from Themyscera wears pants.” 

“Diana lives in a country that is predominantly female and comes from a matriarchal family.” Dinah rolled her eyes. “Besides, there’s no law that says you can’t wear pants. It’s just….how things are done.” He could tell by the look she was giving him that she didn’t care. Oliver looked around and noticed a slightly hidden away, smaller trail. A mischievous smile played across his lips. “Want to ditch the guards?” he whispered to Dinah, glancing around to see if the knights were within earshot. 

“Ditch them? Really?”

“Come on. We can go on an adventure.” 

Dinah smiled. “How do you propose we do this?”

“I’ll give you a signal…. Now!” Oliver snapped the reigns of his horse and steered it into the woods. Dinah followed close, her mare’s head even with the flank of Oliver’s stallion. The path was narrow, eventually forcing her to follow behind him. Distantly, she could hear the sounds of the knights' horse’s following them. “Go right!” Oliver steered his horse right and towards a small river. Their horses jumped the river with ease and they took random twists and turns to try and throw off their pursuers. Eventually, the sounds of the night’s horses' hooves grew silent. The king and queen kept up their pace until they’d found another wide and well-used trail. Oliver laughed as Dinah pulled her horse up beside his. 

“You’re a prince at heart, not a king.” 

“You’re always complaining we never get enough privacy.” 

“So your solution was to make the knights’ lives miserable?” 

“Consider it a training exercise.” Dinah rolled her eyes. “Come on, I think I hear a stream somewhere ahead. “We can water the horses.” They found the stream easily, just a few feet from the path. They tied the horses' reigns to a fallen log so they could rest and drink. Oliver hooked his arm with Dinah’s and led her down the path. “Isn’t this better? No ladies-in-waiting, no dukes or lords wanting our favor, no one expecting anything of us.” 

“It is nice. We’ll have to go back eventually.” 

“I know.” They walked in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying each other’s company and the late spring weather. Their tranquility was broken by someone emerging from the woods ahead of them. A man in dirty clothes carrying a cheap sword. Oliver stopped Dinah and pulled her closer. 

"Who are you?” he asked.

“I’m no one. The better question is, who are you?” the man replied. It occurred to Oliver that without his crown and wearing one of his least formal outfits, he must not have looked like the king. 

“Look like a couple of nobles to me,” said another man, emerging on the other side of the path. Dinah looked back as Oliver took a couple of steps backward. More men were coming up behind him. There were 7 or 8 total. They carried clubs, swords, and daggers that were being swung threateningly in the Royals’ direction. 

“What do you want?” Oliver asked, pulling Dinah as close as he could. 

“Anything valuable you have.” 

“Look, I don’t think you realize who we are-“

“We don’t care,” another man sneered. “We take what we want.” His eyes traveled to Dinah. “Everything we want.” 

Oliver’s face contorted into fury. “If you lay a hand on her-“

“You’ll do what? We’ll cut you up into pieces if you don’t give us what we want.”

“You really don’t want to do that,” Dinah warned them. 

“Really?” the first man asked. “Who’s going to stop us?” As if to answer his question, an arrow burst through his chest and blood blossomed on his shirt. The man looked down with a slightly surprised look on his face before he collapsed. The bandits all looked around and another arrow hit a man in the back of the group in the neck. He fell to the ground with a gurgle. More arrows fired from the trees and landed in their hands, feet, or just near the men. Despite ringing down on them, every single arrow missed Oliver and Dinah. It made the king wonder if his knights had caught up with them already. The bandits still alive abandoned their prey and took off running into the trees. Once they were gone the arrows stopped. Everything was quiet for a minute. Oliver slowly relaxed his grip on Dinah as it lingered. The silence was broken by leaves rustling and twigs snapping. A second later, a figure dropped down from the trees, causing Oliver to pull Dinah back even more. 

“Oh really?" the figure asked sarcastically. “You’re scared of me?” The king's first impression of him wasn’t that different from the bandits. His clothes were dirty and old but fit him well enough; except his boots, which were made of thin leather, had holes in them. The second impression of him was that he wasn't like the bandits because he was a child. His small size and stature gave away his young age. It didn’t fit with the leather quiver on his back, filled with arrows. He held a wooden bow, which was hanging at loosely in his hand. On his waist was a dagger in a leather sheath that was hanging off his belt. Oliver honestly couldn’t decide if this kid was dangerous or not. 

“If you’re not dangerous than show us your face.” The kid scoffed and pulled back the hood of his jacket. Underneath the dirt was a thin, but obviously young face. Oliver guessed he couldn’t have been older than 12 or 13. The boy’s sharp, blue eyes surveyed them suspiciously. 

“If I was dangerous, then why would I save your life just now?” 

“He has a point,” Dinah said. 

“Wait, that was you?!” Oliver demanded. “You chased the bandits away?!”

“I did,” the boy nodded, causing his uneven red hair to flop a little against his head. "If you’re going to be that ungrateful then maybe I should’ve let them kill you.” 

“Ungrateful- Do you know who I am?!”

The boy shrugged. “A stupid noble who doesn’t have any self-preservation skills?” 

“Stupid?!” 

“You went walking around in all those fancy clothes right in the middle of bandit territory! That doesn’t exactly scream intelligence to me.” 

Oliver glared at him. “Didn’t your parents ever teach you any manners?” 

“Didn’t yours teach you not to do stupidly reckless shit?” 

“You parents can’t be much smarter than me if they’re letting a 12-year-old run around these woods alone and armed!” 

“I’m 13! And the joke’s on you because I don’t have any parents!” That made Oliver stop. It was a bit more tragic that this boy was alone in the woods, not because he was causing trouble, but because he was an orphan. There was a tense silence as Oliver took the boy in. His filth. His thin body. His firm stance. This was an orphan surviving on his own in the woods, yet he wasn’t someone who was afraid of confrontation. Dinah looked at Oliver as if asking him, ‘what do you want to do?’ He truthfully didn’t have an answer. Luckily, the kid seemed to know the logical conclusion for this situation. “You guys should get out of here. Go back to….wherever it is you live.”

“What about you?” Dinah asked. 

“I should get out of here too. I know this group. This isn’t the first time I’ve killed a couple of their guys. They’ll be looking to kill me too, so I should get far away from here." Dinah looked at Oliver as if to say ‘Did you hear what he said?!’ Oliver looked at her then back at the boy. Once again, he didn’t know what to say. The silence was broken once again by the sudden beating of hooves against the ground. The group was surrounded within seconds by knights. They saw the king and queen surrounded by arrows and the boy with the bow and swarmed the three without warning. 

“Are you ok, your majesty?” Sir Fyres asked in concern. Before Oliver could answer they heard shouting. Dinah stepped away from Oliver and pushed the knight aside. She saw the boy on the ground, being held there by two knights. They were twisting his arms behind his back while another held his weapons. 

“What’re you doing?!” she demanded, becoming infuriated by the pained look on the boy’s face. 

“Queen Dinah,” Sir Fyres said, placing his hand in front of her to gently guide her back. She glared at him and he looked to the king for help. The boy stopped struggling when he heard the knight. 

“Queen?” he asked in confusion. “Did he just call you the fucking queen?!” 

“Watch your mouth!” one of the knights holding him down snapped; knocking the boy’s head into the ground. “You’re in the presence of royalty.” 

“Stop it!” Dinah snapped. She looked at Oliver, who had yet to say anything. He cleared his throat, getting the knights' attention.

“Let him go,” he told the knights. 

“But sire,” Sir Fyres argued, “he attacked you.” 

“I did not!” the boy shouted, only to have his face shoved into the dirt again. 

“He didn’t attack us!” Oliver practically snapped. “He saved us from some bandits.” 

“He did?” Sir Fyres asked in confusion. 

“Yes.”

“Then, how do you wish to proceed sire?” 

Dinah gave Oliver a long, stern look. He knew what she wanted him to say. Truthfully, he wasn’t 100% opposed to the idea. “We’re bringing him back to the castle.” 

“Sire?”

“What?!” the boy demanded. “I save your life and you’re having me executed?! You ungrateful-“ His words were cut off by his face being pushed into the dirt. 

“Stop doing that!” Oliver snapped at them. “He saved our lives. He’s coming back to the castle with us to be….uh….rewarded.” 

“Yes, sire,” Sir Fyres nodded. He looked back at the knights and motioned for them to get up. They got up and released the boy, who jerked his arms free. He spit dirt out at them with a poisonous glare. Next, he held out his hand for his weapons. The knight holding them gave his commander a questioning look, but Sir Fyres nodded. The boy took his quiver, quickly putting it and his dagger back on his body. Sir Fyres watched him suspiciously. “You’re coming with us boy-“

“I’m not going anywhere with you!” the teen snapped. 

“You were invited to visit the castle by the king himself-“

“A king who’s stupid enough to go wandering around bandit infected woods alone; and whose knights slam kids into the ground!” 

“Boy-“

“No! I know you nobles think you can do whatever you want, but I’m not going anywhere with you!” Sir Fyres sighed and nodded to one of the knights. “You people are-“ The boy was cut off by a knight wrapping an arm around his neck. A pressure was put around his trachea and he fought against the arm holding him. Unfortunately, the knight was stronger and wearing armor. It took a few seconds, but his feet started to fall from underneath him. His arms dropped limp and he fell against the knight holding him. 

“Put him on one of the horses. Tie his hands while he’s out. That won’t keep him out for long.” 

“Was that really necessary?” Dinah asked as she watched the knight pick the boy up with ease and head for the horses. 

“We wouldn’t want him to hurt himself or someone else Your Majesty. I would advise we leave soon. Before the bandits return.” Oliver didn’t listen but instead walked past him. “King Oliver?” Oliver picked up the bow that the boy had dropped. He examined it for a moment, admiring it’s craftsmanship, before turning back to the Sir Fyres and Dinah. 

“Let’s go,” he said, striding past them. By the time he and Dinah had collected their horses and rejoined the knights, the boy had woken up. 

“Whats this?!” he demanded, pulling at the ropes that tied his hands to the saddle. “You’re kidnapping me!” 

“I don’t think it counts as kidnapping if I’m the king.”

The boy glared. “So because there’s a crown on your head, that gives you the right to snatch kids off the street?!”

Oliver knew his knights were angry about how the boy talked to him, but he simply smiled in amusement. “This crown gives me more authority than anyone, kid. You’re coming with us, so you can either fight the whole way or come quietly.” The boy continued to glare but seemed to realize there was no way out of his situation. He huffed and resigned himself to his fate, but didn’t stop glaring at everyone who so much as rode within a foot of him. The knight whose horse he was on actually found it kind of amusing. He’d never met a kid this determined to make his unhappiness known. The boy’s unhappiness seemed to grow as they left the woods and took the narrow road back to the castle gates. They were greeted by some confused looks at the gates by knights on guard duty. The confusion was directed at the boy, who was still glaring at everyone; even the knights who were guarding the first and second gates of the castle. Once they reached the courtyard everyone dismounted from their horses. The knight untied the boy's hands and reached out his own to help him down, but the boy slapped the hand away. He had to shake his hand out after it hit the chainmail gloves the knight wore but still got down from the horse himself. 

“What should we do with the….boy sire?” Sir Fyres asked. 

“He needs a bath,” Dinah said, stepping forward before Oliver could say anything. “He’s having dinner with us tonight so he’ll need to bathe and a clean set of clothes. Until it’s dinner time take him to a room in the royal wing to rest.” Sir Fyres looked at Oliver, as if for confirmation. He nodded and cleared his throat. 

“You heard the queen,” he said. "Get to it.”

“Of course Sire,” Sir Fyres nodded. The king and queen left them alone and the knight waved over a servant. “Take this….boy-“

“Roy,” the boy said. 

“What?”

“My name isn’t ‘boy’ its Roy.”

“Fine. Take Roy to a room in the royal wing of the castle and draw a bath for him. You’ll also need to find him a suitable outfit. Understood?”

“Yes Sir Fyres,” the boy nodded. He looked at Roy curiously and with a little bit of fear. “This way sir.” Roy snorted but followed the kid none the less. He grabbed his bow off Oliver’s saddle as he passed, hanging it off his quiver as he walked. He would’ve expected the boy, who looked 9, to ask a bunch of questions, like why was this dirty, smelly archer being given a room, but he didn’t. Luckily his silence didn’t diminish his knowledge of navigating the castle. The boy ed him up staircases and down corridors with ease. “This room is empty and it’s near the king and queen’s room.” He pushed the door open and stepped aside to let Roy enter. He raised his eyebrows only a fraction of an inch as he did. The room was huge. Far bigger than any room he’d ever seen. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all made of stone, but the stone was smooth. There was a four-posted bed against one wall and a large wardrobe against the adjacent one. Across from the bed was a fireplace, with two very comfortable looking chairs in front of it. The only windows were in the fourth wall of the room. There was a doorway next to the fireplace and a look in there showed a slightly smaller room with bookshelves and a desk. “Is the room to your liking sir?”

Roy shrugged. “It’s ok I guess. I’m not going to be here for long. Just a few hours.” 

“I see. I’m going to prepare your bath and see if the seamstresses have anything you can wear. “

“Ok.” The boy started a fire in the fireplace and left quickly; leaving Roy was alone in the room. He sat down on the floor, figuring they wouldn’t want someone as dirty as him touching anything. It never bothered him, it was a side effect of living in the woods. The servant boy returned only 5 minutes later. 

“Do you need help?” Roy asked him. He felt awkward just sitting there, watching the boy getting his bath ready. 

“Oh no, sir. It’d be improper for a guest of the king to do anything like that.” 

“That’s stupid.” The boy didn’t say anything, but Roy could’ve sword he saw him smile. 

“What’s your name?” 

“My name is Lee.” 

“Nice to meet you, Lee.” 

Lee simply stood aside, revealing that Roy’s bath was ready. “Do you require anything else, sir?”

“Um….no…?”

“Your new clothes are right there.” He pointed to a pile folded neatly on a small table. “I’ll return in a little while.” 

“Ok.” Lee left him alone, shutting the door so Roy could have some privacy. 

Roy went over to the bath and cautiously stuck his hand in it. The water really warm, warmer than any bath he’d ever had. Eagerness taking over for a minute, he stripped out of his dirty clothes. The warmth that enveloped him when he sat in the large tub was heavenly. He would’ve denied to the day he died, but it was one of the greatest feelings Roy’s ever had. Warm baths were rare in his life, happening so few times that he could never remember what it felt like. Most of the time bathing was in a river, which was always freezing. After taking a moment to enjoy the warm water, he started scrubbing the dirt off of himself. The recent rain storms meant that he also had a good amount of mud caked to his body, mostly on his legs. He scrubbed hard, figuring this would be his only chance to ever get clean like this. It didn’t take long for the water to become brown, but he didn’t care. He was happy for the opportunity to get clean. ‘I wonder if they bathe like this every day,’ he thought as he stepped out of the tub and dried himself off. ‘Probably. The king probably has people who wash his body for him.’ He went over to the clothes that had been given to him and put them on. 

He was wearing a white shirt, with a dark green, kind of tight vest over it and brown pants. The fabric of the clothes were the softest he’d ever felt. His own clothes weren’t bad or anything; they were just more designed for practicality than comfort. As soft as the fabric of these clothes were, he could tell how flimsy they were just by touching them. ‘They wouldn’t offer much protection against cold or sleeping on the wet ground.’ He shrugged and put the socks on as well, secretly enjoying how comfortable they were. After a moment of hesitation, he put his boots back on. The familiar shape of the worn leather was like a reality line in his state of bliss. ‘This isn’t permanent,’ he reminded himself sternly as he looked over his weapons to make sure they hadn’t been tampered with. ‘You’ll be here for a few hours, they’ll feed you, the king will feel good about himself, and then you can be on your way.’ Back to the woods. Back to hunting. Back to his life. This wasn’t his life. He didn’t live in the castle, having warm baths every day, and wearing silk-soft clothing. ‘My life is better than this. I’m better than this.’ He wiggled his toes around in his boots for emphasis. Then, deciding it was more practical anyway, he took off his boots and removed the socks he’d been given. When the boots were back on he could feel the leather on his feet. It was grounding and he felt like he was going to need it to survive dinner with the king and queen. 

With his body now clean of dirt and his clothes presentable for the evening, Roy wandered back into the other room with all the books. Upon closer inspection, he discovered there was also a telescope and navigation devices. There were also maps on the walls. One was just of the Star Kingdom. He traced his finger along it, picking out every place he’d ever lived or visited. Another map was of the continent. There was Star in the north-western corner, then smaller city-states like Seattle, where the queen was from, to it’s south. On Star’s eastern border was Central Kingdom. He’d heard it was big, but the map showed it being twice as long as Star. On the other side were several more, smaller city-states, like Keystone. Farther to the east were Gotham and Metropolis on the eastern shore. The two powerhouses were moderate in size, which Roy didn’t really understand. He might’ve had the most basic of an education, even less than that actually and nothing formal, but he knew those kingdoms were prosperous and wealthy. He’d heard their kings were well liked and respected among most citizens. They were actually smaller than Star and Central though. He simply shrugged though and moved on. The next map was of the world, but he didn’t recognize these countries. 

“Enjoying the study sir?” someone asked from behind, causing Roy to jump. 

“You can’t just sneak up on people like that Lee.” 

“Sorry.” 

“Do you come in here a lot?” 

“Only to clean.” 

“Do you ever read the books?” 

“I’m not allowed to. These are for the members of the royal family only.”

“There’s a lot of rules here.”

“Are there less rules where you’re from?”

“I live in the woods. There are no rules.” 

“Interesting.” 

“Is there anything to do around here?” 

“What do you mean 'to do'?”

“For fun?” 

“I don’t usually play sir. I have a lot of work to do.” 

Roy rolled his eyes. “Boring.” 

“I have some cleaning to do sir. I’ll return in a few hours.” 

“Ok.” 

— — 

Roy spent the rest of the afternoon looking for beeswax. Considering the fact that he was in the castle, he figured someone would have some. After obtaining some he carefully applied it to his bow and bowstring. (The only way to protect it against the water.) He cleaned and sharpened his knife as well since there was really nothing else for him to do. So for a couple of hours after he finished the maintenance on his weapons he watched the fire. The shiny hardwood of the floors was cold. ‘I prefer the forest ground.’ After two hours of boredom though, he wandered back into the study. He wandered down the shelves of books, studying the spines carefully. Some of them were in languages he didn’t even know. The books overall were nicer than any he’d ever seen or touched. He found one that looked like it was easy to read. It was slim with a leather case. He opened it up and flipped through the pages. Some had illustrations on them. He nodded to himself and went back into the other room. Seating himself in front of the fire, Roy opened the book and started to read. 

It was probably a book that was meant for children, may the king had read it when he was a boy, but for Roy’ reading level it was fine. It still took him several hours to get through it though. By the time he finished the sun and started to set. He got up, setting the book on a chair. Outside the window, he could see the rooftops of the castle on the lower floors. Beyond that was the inner wall. Roy moved away from the window, shaking his head. There was a knock on the door. Roy waited for a minute, but it didn’t open. “Uh….come in?” The door opened and Lee stepped in. 

“I am supposed to escort you to dinner, sir.” 

“Ok.” The walk through the halls was confusing. There were too many halls and staircases to keep track of. Finally, though, Lee stopped outside a door. He looked Roy over once, before opening the door. “Roy….uh….” It was obvious he wasn’t used to announcing someone. “Your-Your majesties.” 

“Thank you, young man,” Queen Dinah told him. Roy stepped into the room and was taken aback by the size of it. The floors were made of a shiny hard stone and the ceiling was supported by pillars. Gold trim on the tops and bottoms of all the pillars, as well as the moldings on the walls. There was a large fireplace on the opposite wall also obscenely decorated. In the center of the room was a large table that could seat far more people than the tow currently sitting at it. King Oliver sitting at the head of the tape, with Queen Dinah sitting on his right. “Come, Roy, sit.” Roy sat down in a chair across from Dinah. It was wooden, but with green cushions on the seat and back. As soon as he sat down someone came up and poured a drink into his goblet. 

“What is it?” Roy asked, looking at the liquid in the goblet. 

“Cider. It's very good, try it.” Roy took a sip. Then another, much longer one. Dinah smiled. “Are you enjoying the castle, Roy?”

“It’s….different.” 

“I’m sure,” Oliver said. Servants arrived and started placing food on the table. Roy’s eyes widened at the young of food in front of him. He started to reach forward for some, only to stop when Dinah shook her head. He sat back in confusion. Then one of the servants started placing food on his plate. 

‘Do they not do anything for themselves?’ he wondered. Once their plates and goblets were filled the servants stepped back and stood against the walls. Neither Oliver or Dinah spoke to Roy for the first ten minutes. It was the best food he’d ever eaten. He'd had deer before, it was plentiful int he woods, but never this good. There retables he normally couldn’t afford and potatoes. It was amazing. Once he slowed down a little bit, Dinah looked across the table at him. 

“How do you support yourself Roy?” she asked. 

“I’m a huntsman. I hunt game in the woods and sell it at markets.” 

“Small game?” 

“Mostly. The big game like deer are harder to move and carve alone.” 

“How did you learn these skills?”

“The man who raised me taught me everything I know.” 

“The man who raised you?” Oliver asked in confusion. “It wasn't your father?” 

Roy shook his head. “My mother and father died when I was very young. Our house caught fire and they…they they didn’t make it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Brave Bow, the man who raised me, he found me wandering around the woods. Covered in burns and smoky clothes. He nursed me back to health and took me under his wing.” 

“That was very kind of him.” 

“He was killed a year ago by bandits.” 

“That’s….unfortunate.”

“So you’ve been on your own for a year?” Dinah asked. “In bandits filled woods?”

“Pretty much. I only attack them if they attack first though.”

“Sounds lonely though.”

Roy shrugged. “That’s life.”

“You’re good with a bow,” Oliver noted. “You know, I’m pretty good with a bow myself.” 

“I know.” 

“You do?”

“People talk. The king who shows up all his nights and embarrasses his nobles at tournaments where he’s half drunk.”

“I’m never half drunk.”

Roy shrugged again. “I don’t care. I could outshoot you drunk or sober.” 

Oliver froze with his goblet at his lips. “Is that so?” 

“Oh yeah.” 

“How do you know that?”

“Because unlike your knights, I’m not afraid to beat you. I’d never let you win.”

“You think they let me win?” 

“I know they do.” 

Dinah chuckled quietly. “Were you ever educated, Roy?” she asked. 

“Brave Bow taught me to read and write my name. He taught me the alphabet and how to count coins.” 

“Is that it?” 

“I’m a huntsman. We don’t exactly get educations like nobles. Besides, I know everything I need to in order to survive.” 

“True, I suppose.” 

Roy’s plate was almost empty. Almost as if he could read the boy’s mind, a servant stepped forward and re-filled his plate. Another filled his goblet with more cider. It was a little unnerving to Roy, the way they moved without being told. Attending to his needs like he was….important or something. ‘Don’t get used to it,’ he reminded himself as he dug into his second portions. ‘Once dinner is over, they’ll throw you out like garbage. No one will want a dirty orphan making everything filthy.’ 

“Have you ever learned any other languages?” Oliver asked him. 

“What about me makes you think I can speak multiple languages?” 

"Fair point.” 

“How many languages can you speak?”

“Well, ours obviously. I also speak the language spoken by the Gotham, Central, and Metropolis courts. I’m also fluent in the language spoken in Oa.”

“Oa?”

“Its a kingdom to East. One of our best, trading partners. King Hal is one of my closest friends. I’m also conversational in the language of Mas’on, Atlantis, and Themyscira.”

“That’s a lot of languages.”

“Those courts are Star’s closest allies. It’s a show of loyalty for me to speak in their native languages.”

“Strange. I don’t have any friends.” 

“None?” 

“No, but neither do you, so I suppose you can underhand.” 

“I have friends.” 

“You have allies. Not the same thing.” 

“And I suppose you know the difference, Huntsman?” 

“I know what an ally is. Allies are the ones who let me sit beside their fire in the middle of winter. Or help me shoot down a stag so I can have a good week’s pay. But they don’t invite me to join their hunting parties. Believe me, I know the difference.” 

It wasn’t often someone could leave Oliver speechless, but Dinah thought it looked good on him. Finally, he cleared his throat. “Well, you’re experienced for your age.” Roy simply made a noise in response. Oliver sat back, sipping his wine. 

“After dinner, the queen and I usually relax in the sitting room. Would you like to join us? There’ll be dessert in a little while.” 

“Sure.” Roy followed them out of the room and down three wide halls until they entered a room, where large, double doors were opened by two guards. This room was, unsurprisingly, very ornate. The couches they were sitting on were really soft looking, but Roy sat down on the floor.

“You can sit up here you know,” Queen Dinah told him. Roy glanced at the king, then got up slowly and sat on the couch that was a foot away for theirs. The two of them were in front of a lovely fireplace, where a large fire was already going when they walked in. A servant offered him a goblet on a tray and he accepted it with quiet thanks. 

“What do you know about the other kingdoms?” Oliver asked him. 

‘“I already told you what I've had for education,” Roy replied. “How many times do I have to repeat it?”

“You’ve never even heard anything about the other kingdoms?”

“I heard the king of Gotham drinks the blood of his knights.”

“Anything else?”

“Nope”

“Better than nothing I suppose.”

“Tell us about our travels, Roy,” Dinah said. “You’ve been all over Star I’m sure.” So Roy launched into stories about his travels and what he’d seen. He'd been up and down the kingdom many times, moving from place to place constantly. In the middle of his stories, a servant arrived with a tray filled with tarts. They turned out to be apple-filled. Roy had never had anything so delicious in his entire life. They ate the tarts and the servants kept his goblet filled with cider the entire time. After a time, Oliver had his drink refilled and nodded to the small table, containing a game of chess between their two couches. 

“Do you know how to play?” he asked. 

“No.”

“Do you want to learn?”

Roy shrugged. “Sure.” It wasn’t a difficult game to figure out. Roy picked it up fairly quickly one the rules had been explained to him. He even beat Oliver in their final round. 

“You learn fast.”

“I try.” 

“It's getting late. We should probably go to bed.”

“What about me?”

“What about you?” Dinah asked in confusion. “Didn’t the servant show you to a room?”

"Yes….”

“Then we’ll see you in the morning.”

“You want me to stay the night?”

"Why not?” Oliver asked. “We can have a little tournament if you’d like. If you’re so confident you can beat me.”

“I know I can beat you.” 

“Then I’ll see you in the morning.”

Roy was led back to the room he’d been in all afternoon. Lee was there tending the fire when he walked in. “Here are your sleeping clothes, sir,” Lee said handing a loose shit and pair of loose pants to him. 

“Thanks,” Roy said. 

“Do you need anything else, sir?” 

“Um….no I”m good…”

“I’ll see you in the morning then sir.” Lee left the room, leaving Roy alone in the large room. 

— — 

“I know what you’re doing,” Dinah said as she dropped her jewels into their ornate box.

“How can you possibly know what I’m doing?” Oliver asked. He made his way across the room and started undoing the back of her dress. 

“Asking him about his education. What he knows about our allies. The languages he speaks. I know exactly what you’re doing."

“What am I doing?” 

“Getting attached.” Dinah started slipping her dress off.

“Is that a bad thing?” 

“It might be. He’s not a stray dog, Ollie. He’s a person. A boy who’s been orphaned twice and he’s barely even a teenager.”

“I’ve been more than nice to him.” Dinah spun around and gave him a pointed look. “You want to keep him.”

“You don’t?”

“What would he do if he stays here? What would he be?”

“Ours.” Dinah sighed and pulled on her nightgown. “He’d be a prince.” 

“A prince? You’re not serious.”

“I am. I like this kid Dinah. I really do.”

“So you want to put a crown on his head?”

“Of course.”

“Ollie, you’ll have to fight everyone on this. You’re talking about making a random boy the next king. Is that even allowed?”

“Probably…”

“Probably?”

“The official laws of succession state that the ruling monarch has to name his successor. It’s just traditional for them to name their eldest son the future king.” 

Dinah sighed as Oliver sat on the edge of their bed. “I know this seems like no big deal to you since you were groomed to be king from the moment of your conception, but it is Ollie. Your council will fight you every step of the way.”

“I can handle them-"

“Can Roy?” Dinah sat down next to him. “Are you really willing to put him through that? The scrutiny of your council, the nobles, the other courts?”

“They will come to accept it by the time he takes the throne. We’ll make sure he has the best tutors, the finest instructors in everything. He’ll be well learned and skilled. I’ll make sure he has their respect and support.”

“Ollie-"

“I have to do something.” He took her hands and uncharacteristic seriousness crossed his face. “We don’t have any heirs. Its not from a lack of trying and the council is putting me under a lot of pressure. I’m the last of my line. If there’s no clear line of succession, there will be nothing to stop the nobles from fighting over the crown. There’ll be a civil war."

“Give them an heir like him and they’ll just kill him when you’re dead.”

“We can convince them.”

“And when they ask why you want to make the boy you’ve known for a day the heir?”

“You did see the way he talked to us, right? Most people would never talk to us like that. He openly challenged me to an archery competition.”

“He’s stubborn and bold.”

“I know and I like that. A kid like that could withstand the scrutiny of the court. He wouldn’t take shit from anyone. And I want an heir who will be able to carve his own place in the court.”

"How do you know he even wants to be king?”

“Who doesn’t want to be the king?”

“Sometimes I think you don’t.” She ran a hand through his hair. “Are you sure about this?”

“The last time I was this sure about something I married you.” 

“Then we should get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”

— — 

Sleeping in a bed was always an interesting experience for Roy. The bed in the castle was the most comfortable he’d ever experienced. It was soft and he fell asleep within seconds. Not even the softest blankets could stop him from waking up before the sun. Despite being up so early though, Lee was already running around the room. 

“Oh, sorry sir,” Lee said. “Did I wake you?”

“No, I usually wake up early.”

“I’ve laid out your clothes.” He nodded to the pile of clothes on a chair. “Once you’re dressed I'll bring you down to breakfast.” 

“Um...ok…” Lee left again and Roy got dressed. He was brought down to the room with the long table again. For breakfast, there were potatoes and fruits. They still gave him cider to drink. His plate and goblet were never empty. After breakfast, he brought outside to a large, grassy field. 

“Are we still on the castle grounds?” he asked Lee.

“We are sir. The grounds are very expansive.”

“Are you sure you can carry my bow?”

“I’m sure. You’re the king’s guest. I’d be improper for you to carry it.”

“Right.” They came to a long patch of grass with a target on one end. Queen Dinah was standing off to one side with several knights. did they think he was going to try and kill the king?

“Are you ready?” Oliver asked him. 

Roy rolled his eyes and put the quiver on his back. “Let's go.” Oliver stepped forward and raised his bow. It hit the center of the target. He smiled cockily at the boy. Roy simply raised and shot an arrow in one fluid motion. It split the king’s arrow down the middle. 

Dinah smiled. ‘These two are certainly a match.’

“Beginner’s luck,” Oliver muttered. He shot two more arrows. One hit the center and the other split it. Roy simply landed two more bullseyes and split them. This continued for close to an hour before Dinah stepped in. 

“I think you’ve both proven how skilled you are,” she said. “We should relax in the sitting room for a couple of hours before Oliver has to meet with the council.”

“So I guess I should be going then,” Roy said. He looked down at the fancy clothes he was wearing. “Can I have my clothes back?” the king and queen looked at each other. 

“Why don’t you join us?” 

“Really?”

“Sure,” Oliver smiled. “Why not?” Roy frowned as Lee took his bow and quiver. Why were they still keeping him around? As soon as they were sitting and a servant brought them goblets of water. “Leave us.” They left as soon as Oliver waved his hand and the door was shut. Roy’s muscles tensed. “What’s going on?” he demanded. 

“Relax Roy, we’re not going to hurt you,” Dinah said. “We’d like to…talk to you.”

“About what?”

“We would like you to stay here in the castle,” Oliver told him. 

“…Why?” They looked at each other as if they were unable to explain their motives. “To be like a servant?”

“To be the prince.”

Roy dropped his goblet. It clanged across the floor, spilling water on the rug, but he didn’t care. “You want me to be what?”

Oliver took a breath. “You need a home-"

“I have a home.”

“You live in the woods and sleep on the ground.”

“What’s so bad about that?!”

“Living here would be better! You could have nice clothes, a comfy bed, a good education-"

“Rule the kingdom.” Roy shook his head. “No, you can’t be serious. You just can’t be!”

“I am. Roy, you’re a nice kid. I need an heir, someone to take the throne after my death-"

“No.”

“We’d take good care of you-“

“No.”

“Make sure you’re prepared for it-”

“No!” He jumped to his feet. “What even is this?! Princes are born! Queen’s like her,” He pointed to Dinah. “they create princes! Can't you guys just…make your own?”

“No,” Dinah told him. “We can’t. Believe me, we’ve tried.” Her words, especially the regret in them, made him freeze. Oliver reached out and took her hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze, then kissed her knuckles. The tenderness of the moment made Roy swallow and sit down on the ground. He didn’t know a lot about nobles, but he did know they depended on having children. Their stations demanded they produce heirs. Dinah was the queen, but she couldn’t give the king a child.

“You need an heir.”

“We do,” Oliver nodded. “It would take a lot of pressure off us.”

“You want me to take that pressure instead?”

“You fight bandits on your own, kid. I really think you can handle the pressure of being the prince.”

“So I just live here and be the prince?”

“Preferably be a part of our family,” Dinah told him. “We think you’re a great kid Roy. We’d love for you to live here with us.”

“This isn’t just about needing an heir, you really want me here?”

“Of course,” Oliver said. “How else am I supposed to find a way to beat you at archery.”

Roy smirked. “You can try.” 

“So, what’d you say? Do you want to be the next king of Star?”

“Alright. Fine.” Dinah smiled and got down on the floor with him. She pulled the still slightly confused boy into a hug. “Welcome to the family, Roy.” 

“Thanks?” 

Oliver smiled and knelt down next to him. He put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “You’ll make a great king. I’m sure of it.”


End file.
